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School Safety

Theft, violent crime and student homicides have declined in American schools (with children in grades K-12) over the past decade. A growing body of evidence shows that violence prevention programs can help young people learn other ways to resolve conflict and express their feelings in a safer way. Schools and communities can work together to make these programs available and prevent violence before it occurs. [1]

The following graphs illustrate rates of school crimes between 1992 and 2005, focusing on:

• Theft.
• Violent crime.
• Serious violent crime.
• Total nonfatal, school-associated crime.
• Homicide.

For more information about preventing school gun violence, read an article from NIJ Journal 248 (2002), “Preventing School Shootings (pdf, 15 pages),” which summarizes a longer report published jointly by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education: The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States (pdf, 63 pages).

NIJ's School Safety Portfolio

NIJ’s school safety portfolio includes research and evaluation concerning:

• Innovative technologies to improve security.
• Training tools to help School Resource Officers and teaching professionals resolve conflict.
• Training tools to manage critical incidents.
• Programs and procedures to prevent school violence.
• The best practices that school administrators and staff use to keep schools safe.